Facebook to Ban White Nationalism, Separatism as Hate Speech

The ban will specifically target posts that praise, support or represent white nationalism or separatism. 'It's clear that these concepts are deeply linked to organized hate groups and have no place on our services,' Facebook says.

Facebook will start banning calls for white nationalism and white separatism on its platform next week.

Facebook previously allowed the terms, even though promotion of "white supremacy" on the social network would result in an immediate takedown. But on Wednesday, the company announced it would also ban the two other ideologies, after receiving feedback from civil rights experts and academics.

"We decided that the overlap between white nationalism, [white] separatism, and white supremacy is so extensive we really can't make a meaningful distinction between them," Facebook counterterrorism policy director Brian Fishman told Motherboard, which was first to break the news.

The ban will specifically target posts that praise, support, or represent white nationalism or separatism. For example, "I am a proud white nationalist" and "Immigration is tearing this country apart; white separatism is the only answer" will be banned, Motherboard said in its report.

Facebook users who try to post or search for the content will be forwarded to a nonprofit called Life After Hate, which focuses on helping people leave "violent far-right" groups.

According to Motherboard, Facebook decided the ideologies were "inherently hateful" after speaking with experts who've been warning terms like "white nationalism and separatism" can normalize racism. Prior to the change, leaked training manuals for Facebook content moderators showed the social network framed white nationalism and separatism as extreme right-wing political movements, but not always associated with racism.

"We didn't originally apply the same rationale to expressions of white nationalism and separatism because we were thinking about broader concepts of nationalism and separatism—things like American pride and Basque separatism, which are an important part of people's identity," Facebook said in its blog post on Wednesday.

"Going forward, while people will still be able to demonstrate pride in their ethnic heritage, we will not tolerate praise or support for white nationalism and separatism," the company added.

Facebook's decision is bound to win praise from critics who've blasted it for letting hate speech and conspiracy theories circulate on the platform. But the upcoming ban will no doubt receive criticism from others who claim the tech industry is out to censor free speech, particularly from conservatives.

About the Author

Michael has been a PCMag reporter since October 2017. He previously covered tech news in China from 2010 to 2015, before moving to San Francisco to write about cybersecurity. He covers a variety of tech news topics, including consumer devices, digital privacy issues, computer hacking, artificial intelligence, online communities and gaming.
Send... See Full Bio

Get Our Best Stories!

This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.